Woman removed from OKC bombing ceremony after walking onto stage, talking at officials
Those in attendance and watching the 30th Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony of the Murrah Building bombing witnessed a small hiccup after a woman walked onto the stage and was shortly escorted out.
Officials believe there to be no threat to the public.
At the event's start, Dr. Susan Chambers, chair of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, began welcoming the audience to the ceremony. Before she could finish much of her greeting, a woman walked onto the stage toward a row of officials and victim family members. She appeared to be trying to talk to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, according to Pastor Josue Araujo.
The pastor of First Church said he was unsure how the individual got on stage, remarking, "Somehow security slipped up" when the program began. From there, he witnessed the individual "speaking with a loud voice" to an individual on the stage.
It is unclear who she was trying to speak with; sources involved say it could be Stitt or U.S. Senator James Lankford.
The woman's voice was picked up by the microphone on stage, and she could be heard saying, "Help me, please. You know who I am," before being escorted off.
Araujo stated that he stepped in to help after seeing that the person who attempted to escort her off was unsuccessful.
The individual had a clipboard and papers in hand, the contents of which were unknown.
While she may have gotten past security, Araujo said he doesn't think there was any threat to safety. Araujo believes she attempted to speak with the governor.
"I just think this is someone who likely knew the governor was going to be present and wanted him to act or make a decision in her favor on something and used this as the moment," Araujo said.
Although he did catch her name at the moment, he was unable to recall it during the interview.
Officials with the governor's office and law enforcement did not have additional details to share.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Woman removed from OKC bombing ceremony after walking onto stage
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